This invention relates to interactive media systems, and more particularly to message insertion.
A common model for getting revenue from television is to sell advertising space during television shows. Advertising space typically consists of 15-, 30-, or sixty second spots which occur periodically during the television show. One of the potential problems with inserting non-story content into the show is that viewers may switch stations during the advertisements. To increase the chances that a viewer will continue watching the show, advertising may be placed at moments in the story where there is a certain dramatic intensity that compels the viewer to see what happens next. This is sometimes referred to as a cliffhanger.
The reality is that for much of advertisement-sponsored television, the timing of the advertisements is fixed, and the story is written to carefully fit the structure. Because the television show is produced ahead of time, the show is carefully edited to adhere to the strict timing. This method has worked well for television for many years.
A growing alternative to the fixed script passive viewer television model of entertainment is interactive media. Interactive media includes a wide variety of electronically mediated activities in which one or more users interacts with an electronic system (e.g., a computer, a personal digital assistant, or a mobile telephone) and controls, at least partially, the progression of audio and/or visual information displayed to him or her. Interactive media includes traditional commercial video games, handheld video games, home computer games, and online network based games. Also included are non-game activities such as online chat rooms, and other forms of web browsing.
Typically, an interactive media system can be thought of as having one or more input ports for receiving inputs from users, one or more output ports for displaying information to users, and a processing system for receiving the inputs and generating the outputs. The processing system is a state machine, the state of which at any time is determined by the history of user inputs (and possibly random variables). The state at any given time affects how the processing system responds to further inputs from users.
A well known example of an interactive media system is a so-called Single-Player Fighting Game (SFG). In an SFG, a single player navigates a synthetic world trying to achieve various goals and encounters various obstacles and hazards along the way. To the extent the player succeeds in certain goals, he or she is made stronger, whereas failure to achieve certain goals (e.g., defending against an attack by a monster) can made the player weaker. In such a system, the processing system typically keeps track of the strength or weakness of the player by maintaining a state variable representing the player""s xe2x80x9chealthxe2x80x9d, where a value of 100% represents the strongest possible health, and a value of 0% means that the player has been killed. The Quake game is a well-known example of an SFG.
Other specific examples of interactive media systems include a Text-Based Interactive Fiction Game like the DEADLINE(TM) game, Multiplayer Fighting Game like the QUAKE III ARENA(TM) game, a Turn-Based Strategy Game like the CIVILIZATION II(TM) game, a Two-Player Console Sports Game (like the INTERNATIONAL SUPER STAR SOCCER(TM) game), a Conventional Online Game like Chess (found, e.g., at the xe2x80x9cfreechessxe2x80x9d web site), an Internet Chat like AOL""s INSTANT MESSENGER CHAT(TM) service, and a mobile telephone game like the SNAKE(TM) game.
Although the sale of advertising space for interactive media offers a potential revenue source for interactive media system developers, it is difficult to apply the television-based advertising insertion model to interactive media. A central problem is that many forms of interactive media are unpredictable. Because the user""s inputs determine, in part, the sequence of interactive events the user perceives, the sequence will typically not follow the story structure and strict timing that are necessary for inserting advertisements according to a fixed schedule. Although some interactive media systems (e.g., at the GAMESVILLE(TM) website) insert advertising at the conclusion of a game, these messages are relatively easy for a user to ignore, since the user has completed the activity that was keeping his or her attention.
In general, in one aspect, the invention provides a method and apparatus, including a computer program apparatus, implementing techniques in a data processing system executing a process for interacting with at least one user, for executing the process for a period of time and, during execution of the process, at a moment of likely intensity of the user""s interaction with the process, displaying a message to the user.
The techniques may include monitoring data about the process and determining the moment of likely intensity of the user""s interaction with the process based on the results of the monitoring. Displaying the message may include suspending the process during the display of the message. The process may be a game process, and suspending the process may include temporarily halting the progress of the game while the message is being displayed, and continuing the progress of the game only after the message has been displayed. The process may be an online real time discussion medium and monitoring data about the process may include measuring the rate of message traffic in the medium. The process may be a fighting game having characters, and monitoring data about the process may include determining the relative health of a first character. The first character may be a character corresponding to a player. Measuring the intensity of the user""s interaction may include determining the rate of message traffic in an interactive medium relative to the number of users of the medium. The process may include a simulated team ball game, and monitoring data about the process may include determining a measure of a likelihood of a player scoring. The process may include a game having one or more players, and wherein monitoring data about the process comprises determining a measure of likely change in a measure of success of a player in the game. The process may include a game having one or more players, and monitoring data about the process may include determining a change in a measure of success of a player in the game. A state of the process may be determined and the content of the message may be selected according to the state of the process. The process may include a game having simulated characters who interact with a character representing the user and a relationship between a particular simulated character and the character representing the user may be determined and the content of the message determined according to the identity of the simulated character. Determining the relationship may include determining a distance between the particular simulated character and the character representing the user and determining the content of the message may include selecting a message associated with the simulated character. The simulated character may be associated with a product or service, and the message may be an advertisement for the product or service. The techniques may include repeatedly displaying a message during the process, determining at least one waiting interval and waiting for a determined waiting interval between each message display. The process may include a game process, and interval of time may be determined according to an estimate or measure of the amount of time remaining in the game. The message may include an advertising message. The process may present an interactive drama to the user, and wherein the message may be not part of the dramatic storyline. Measuring data about the process may include monitoring the user""s knowledge of a fact about the drama. Measuring data about the process may include monitoring the user""s knowledge of a fact about the drama comprises estimating a degree of user certainty about whether the fact is true. Measuring data about the process may include providing an association between events within the interactive drama and thoughts that a user is likely to have in response to an event, and monitoring changes in the thoughts that a user is likely to be having based on one or more events that occurred in the drama. Measuring data about the process may include providing an association between events that have occurred within the interactive drama and goals of a user, and monitoring changes in the goals that a user is likely to have based on one or more events that have occurred in the drama. Measuring data about the process may include monitoring events that have occurred in the drama, monitoring the active goals of the user, and determining whether the events occurred by the user attempting to achieve one of the active goals. The data processing system may be connected to a network, and the content of the message may be received in the data processing system from the network. The process may include a game process, and monitoring data about the process may include comparing the user""s score with a pre-existing recorded score. The message may include an interactive presentation. The message may include a fixed audio/video presentation. The data processing system may include a mobile telephone. The data processing system may include a personal digital assistant, a set top box, a game console, or a digital TV system. The process may include a game having simulated characters who interact with a character representing the user, a location of the character representing the user may be determined and the content of the message may be determined according to the location of the simulated character. The techniques may include determining an urgency of user response to the process and determining whether to display the message based on the urgency of user response. The techniques may include determining a geographical location of the user on the earth and determining the content of the message according to the location of the user. The techniques may include determining the interval of time according to an estimate or measure of likely intensity of the user""s interaction with the process based on the results of the monitoring. The game may comprise a multi-user game operating over a network. Monitoring the process may include determining whether the process is in an urgent state, and it may be determined whether to display the message based on whether the process is in an urgent state. The process may include a character-based fighting game, and determining whether the process is in an urgent state may include determining whether a character associated with the user is within a line of sight of any enemies. Monitoring the process may include determining whether the process is in an urgent state, and the techniques may include resuming the process after the display of the message and modifying the state of the process to a non-urgent state after displaying the message and before resuming the process. The process may include a character-based fighting game, and determining whether the process is in an urgent state may include determining whether a character associated with the user is within a line of sight of any enemies. A history of the display of the interactive process may be recorded and, after displaying the message to the user, a portion of the recorded history may be redisplayed. An appropriate time for displaying the message may be determined and, in response to the determination, the likely intensity of the user""s interaction by modifying the state of the process may be increased. The content of the message may be determined based on the contents of a user profile for the user.
In general, in another aspect, the invention provides a method and apparatus, including a computer program apparatus, implementing techniques for displaying messages in a mobile networked device including determining the location of the device, selecting a message for display based on the location of the device and displaying the message on the device.
The message may be an advertising message. The device may include a mobile telephone. The device may include a personal digital assistant. The advertising message may include an advertisement for a business in the same location as the device. The local time in the location of the device may be determined and the message may be selected based on the local time.
In general, in another aspect, the invention provides a method and apparatus, including a computer program apparatus, implementing techniques for displaying a message on a mobile networked device including determining the location of the device, selecting a message for display based on previously stored information about the user, and displaying the message on the device.